1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electrical connector having a housing enclosed and held by a rectangular case made of a metal, especially a USB connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of the USB connector is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Kokai Number 3076855. The UBS connector is standardized and as shown in FIG. 2 of the reference, a receptacle connector, which is fixed to a circuit board, has a metal case of which lower surface is cut downward to provided a fixing leg and part of the upper surface is cut upward to provide a locking arm. The UBS connector shown in FIG. 2 is called a “miniature-type connector”, and has a sectional shape of substantially “T” so as to have the locking arm and a shield piece in the upper side. A plug connector of the UBS connector has a display section on which information, such as the type of the connector, is indicated, and is plugged in the receptor connector with the display section facing upward. The upper surface of the plug connector, in which the display section is provided, has an engagement window to engage the locking arm of the receptor connector.
The plug connector is plugged in the receptor connector fixed on the circuit board of an electronic apparatus from an opening of a panel or case of the electronic apparatus.
An electronic apparatus has a convenient direction or orientation for usage and the method of fixing the receptacle connector is changed according to the convenient direction.
For example, a portable telephone is required to have a small thickness. In addition, a circuit board must be arranged in the vicinity of a display so that electronic components including the connector should be arranged on the lower surface of the circuit board. Consequently, the locking arm of the receptor connector faces downwardly so that the engaging window of the plug connector also faces downwardly. It means that the display section of the plug connector fronts to an opposite direction with the display of the portable telephone so that the user cannot see the display section of the plug connector when he/she is watching the display of the portable telephone. Even if the receptacle connector is used upside down to solve the problem, the locking arm and shield piece cannot obtain a sufficient amount of displacement because they are provided by cutting upward the upper surface of the metal case. Also, it is difficult to provide the locking arm and shield piece on the lower surface of the metal case together with the fixing legs because the fixing legs are provided there by cutting downward the metal case.
When the receptacle connector is fixed to the circuit board, the receptacle connector is absorbed and held by an automatic machine for pick-up from a container and brought to a predetermined position of the circuit board for solder-connection. However, as described above, the upper surface of the metal case of the receptacle connector is provided with the locking arm so that there is no flat plane having a sufficient space for the absorption. Accordingly, a heat-resistant tape is adhered to the upper surface to enable the automatic absorption prior to the absorption and then taken off after the receptacle connector is soldered to the circuit board, which needs time and labor.